Venetian blind slat washer



April 26, 1960 w. E. FRAND 2,933,745

VENETIAN BLIND SLAT WASHER Filed Oct. 26, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J1 Egg-j '20 9 2 f 68 82 8 J04 J06 6 v M !I.@. 10,zzw

I ig j 109 I/ I H I III J32 a INVENTOR.

k WaZ/wdTJrazzd Apri126, 1960 w. E. FRAND 2, 33,7

VENETIAN BLIND SLA'I WASHER Filed Oct. 26, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VENETIAN BLIND SLAT WASHER Walfred E. l rand, Van Nuys, Calif.

Application October 26, 1953, Serial No. 388,198

3 Claims. (Cl. 15-4) This invention relates to washing machines and more particularly to a machine for washing and waxing Venetian blind slats. The Cleaning of Venetian blind slats has at'all times been a problem since they are difficult to clean when in place in their ladder straps without staining the straps and to properly clean the slats after the blind has been dis-assembled has heretofore been a time-consuming operation. 7 The present invention has for its principal object the provision of an"organized apparatus into one end 'of whicht-he slats are fed and through which the slats are caused to pass with incident washing, drying, waxing and polishing operations being'performed thereon during such passage. h

Another object of the invention is to provide a washing machine for Venetian blind slats in which incident to passage ther'ethrough, the slats are constantly subjected to tensionJ A further object of the invention is to provide 'a washing machine for Venetian blind slats which Without change is adapted to perform its operations either on metal or wooden slats.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above character which may 'be brought to the location of the blind to be cleaned and used at that location without danger of damage or 'of spotting the room furnishings adjacentto the point of use.

A still further object of the invention is toprovide a machine of the above character which is simple and "sturdyin' construction, is reliable in use, and which does not requireany special skill to operate. I

With the foregoing objects in view, together with such other objects and advantages as may subsequently appear,

the invention resides in the parts, and in the construction, combination: and arrangement of parts disclosed by way of example, in the following specification describing one mode of execution of the invention, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part of said specification, and in which drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a Venetian blind slatwashing machine embodying the present invention; the mode of folding. and'removal of the receiving rack benig indicatedpin broken lines.

Fig. 2-is ,an enlarged top plan view of the machine, Fig. 3. is a top 'plan sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.4, Fig. 4 is an enlarged front side elevation of the machine shown in; the preceding figures; the front panels and access doors being broken away to show interior mechanism, l 1 t Fig. 5 is a further enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the IineES P-S of Fig. 2 showinga slat passing through the various pairs of rollers, and h Fig. 6 is a still further enlarged fragmentary sectional viewtaken-on the line 6--6: of Fig. 5 showing the spring pressurearrangem'ent on the feeding rollers of the ma- .chiiie a pa stratedembodinient of the invention includes a 2,933,746 7 ,Paented pr,- 26, 96

frame structure in the form of a cabinet 1 having a bottom wall 2 mounted on casters 3 and supporting end walls 4 and 5, a rear wall 6 and a front wall 7 provided with access doors 8, 8. The walls in turn support a mechanism supporting shelf 9 within the cabinet and a top member 10 provided with certain belt access openings, roller clearance openings, and a drain opening to be later referred to in detail. The slat washing and waxing devices comprise a washing and feeding unit 11, a waxing unit 12 and a polishing unit 13; each unit comprising 'a plus rality of pairs of rollers arranged with the meeting faces of all pairs of rollers disposed in the same horizontal plane and with the axes of each pair of rollers disposed in a vertical plane parallel to other vertical planes containing the axes, respectively of other pairs of. said rollers. I 1

The washing and feeding unit comprises in the direction of travel of slats through the machine, a pair of washing rollers 14 and 14, a pair of drying rollers 15 and 15' and a pair of feeding rollers 16 and 16. The opposite ends of the upper rollers 14, 15', and 16' are journalled in bearing members 17' and 18 and at the same time. the ends of ti e lower rollers 14, 15 and 16 are journalled; in bearing members 17 and 18. The bearing members'are secured to the opposite faces of the top member 10*and to each otherby bolts-19' (see Figs, 2 and 4). The bearings in the bearing members are so disposed relative to the top surface'of the member 10' and to the diameter of the rollers that the lower rollers project through an opening 20 in the top member 10 and engage the surfaces of the upper rollers in a plane parallel" to and slightly above the top surface of the top member 10 (see Fig. 5). The shafts of the rollers 14 and 15 project through the side of the bearing member 17 and respectively carry pulleys 21 and 22 which are connected by belts '23 and 24 to pulleys 25 and 26 on the end of a countershaft 27 mounted in bearing brackets 28 and '29 carried by the shelf member 9 as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Above the pulleys 21 and 22, the topmember 10 m provided with an opening'30'through which access can be had to the belts 23 and 24 at their point. of engagement with the pulleys 21 and 22. The shaft of 'the feeder roller 16 projects through thebearing 18 and carries a pulley '31 which is connected by a belt32to a pulley' 33 on a'c'ountershaft 34 journalled in bearings 35 and 36'mounted on the shelf member 9. The top member 10 is provided with. an opening 37 through which access is had to the belt 32 at its point of engagement with the pulley 33. The driving means for the rollers 14, 15 and 16 comprises a motor 38 mounted on the upper surface of the bottom member, 2 and having a small pulley 39 connected by a belt'40 toQa large pulley 41 mounted on one end of a countershaft 42 journalled in a bearing member 43 mounted "on the shelf member 9 (see Figs. 3 and 4) and the sha'ft 42 at its other end carries a small pulley 44'connected by'a belt 45 to a largerpulley 46 mounted on a mainfcjountershaft 47 journalled in bearings 48 and'49 mounted on the shelf member 9. The shaft 47 adjacent the bearing 49 carries a sprocket 50 which is connected by a sprocket chain 51 to a sprocket 52 mounted on the shaft 34 and the shaft 34 in turn carries a pulley 53 connected by a belt' 54- with a pulley 55 on the shaft 27.

The bearings for the opposite ends of the feed roller 16' each comprise a bearing block 56 slidably mountedin a vertical recess 57 in the bearing members 17 and.18' said recess being closed at its upper end and housing a compression spring 58 of such length that when the hear ing members are clamped to the top member 10 by the bolts 19, the springs are compressed and thus provide-a heavy pressure'on the roller 16 by the roller 16'. The drive means above described are so proportioned that the surface speed of the rollers 14 and 14 and 1 5and 15' unit 61 having its discharge orifice connected to a two part tube 62 connected at-62 leading the fluid delivered by said pump unit to a series of four pipes 63 extending parallel to the rollers 14 and 14' and having along their lengths a series of outlet ports directing the fluid toward the slat in close proximity to the washing rollers 14 and 14', Beneath and secured to the under side of the top member 10 and. extending around the perimeter of the opening 20 is a receptacle 64 for collecting the discharged fluid. andreturning itto thetank 59 through a hose 65 connectedpto a nipple in. the bottomof the receptacle and extending into the tanlc59. The washingrollers 14 and 14' and the drying rollers and 15' are formed of soft sponge rubber or. equivalent resilient and porous material and: the feeder rollers. 16 and 16'- are formed of slightly "resilientsolid rubber and by virtue. of the pressure exerted bythe springs. 58, 58 are enabled to grip the slat and propel it through the washing rollers and drying. rollers regardless of'the differential of surfacespeeds between the slat and the surfaces of 'thoserollers. The washing fluid comprises very hot water and a detergent and as the slat progresses between the rollers the washing rollers loosen the soil on the surface of the slat and the drying rollers remove most of the excess moisture therefrom. Since the water employed is very hot, the completion of drying 'byevaporation is veryrapid. This is particularly true of 'metal slats which conduct the heat from the washing area vtothe drying area.

Beyond the washing, drying and feeding unit, the slat next encounters the wax applying unit comprising a pair tofwax applying rotary brushes 66 and 66' and a pair of wax smoothing rollers 67 and 67 formed of soft sponge rubber or the equivalent thereof. The upper brush and roller. 66 and 67' are mounted in upper bearing members 68"and 69 and the lower brush and roller are similarly mounted in bearing members 68 and 69; and engage the upper brush and roller through an-opening 70 in the top member 10;. the bearing members being secured to the opposite faces of the top member 10 and to each other by bolts 70'. The shaftsof the brush 66 and roller 67 extend through the bearing member 68 and respectively carry pulleys 71 and 72 which are connected by belts 73 and 74 to pulleys 75 and 76 mounted on the end of the shaft 47 which projects beyond the side of the bearing 48( 'se'e Figs. 3 and 4). An opening 76' in the top member 10 provides access to the pulleys 71 and 72. The inner faces of the bearing members 68' and 69' above the mountingof the shaft carrying the rotary brush 66' are provided with vertical grooves 77, 77 in which the opposite ends of'a wax carrying bar 78 are loosely engaged with the under face of the wax carried by said bar resting on the surface of the rotary brush 66'.

It has been found that due to the fact that the width of the rollers is considerably greater than the width of a slat,

by starting the successive slats through the machine at dilferent positions along the width of the rollers, suflicient waxis transferred from the brush 66' to the brush 66to insure a proper coat of wax being applied to the under greater than the speed'of the feedrollers 16 and'16' and the speed of the rollers 67'and 67' in turn is greater than that of the brushes 66 and 66' with resultant effect of the slippage of the brushes on the slat caused by the firm gripping of the slat by the feed rollers 16 and 16 serving first to apply wax to the sides of the slat and to spread the applied wax in a uniform; film thereon. Additionally, the said higher speeds maintain the slat under tension.

The polishing unit '13 comprises in the order of progression of a slat through the machine, a first pair of soft, resilient polishing rollers 79 and 79, a pair of rotary brushes 80 and 80 and a final pair of soft, resilient polishing rollers 81 and 81'. The upper rollers and rotary brush 79', 80' and 81' have their ends journalled in hearing members 82' and 83' while the lower rollers 79, 80 and 81 are correspondingly journalled in bearing members 82 and 83; the respective bearing members-being secured to the top and bottom surfaces of the top plate 10 by bolts 84. The top member 10 is provided with an opening 85 through which the upper portions of the lower rollers and brush extend for contact with the lower por' tions of the respective upper rollers and brush. The ends of the shafts of the roller 79 and brush 80 project through the bearing member 83 and carry, respectively, pulleys 86- and 87 which are connected by belts 88 and 89 withv pulleys 90 and 91 mounted on one end of a countershaft 92 journalled in bearings 93 and 94 secured to the shelf member 9. The shaft of the roller 81 projects through the bearing member 82 and carries a pulley 95 connected by'a belt 96 to a pulley 97 on the opposite end of the counter-shaft 92. An opening 98 in the top member 10 provides access to the pulleys 86 and 87 and another opening 99 similarly provides access to the pulley 95. Between its ends the countershaft 92 carries a pulley 100 which is connected by a belt 101 to a pulley 102 on the main countershaft 47 to effect the driving of the rollers and brushes of the polishing unit. The pulley 100 is smaller than the pulley 102 and the pulleys 86, 87, 90 and 91 are so proportioned as to effect a gradual increase in the surface speeds of the rollers andbrushes as the slat progresses between them in the manner described in detail in connection with the polish-unit whereby the slat is subjected to slight tension and the differential in the said surfaces speeds provides the required bufiing action to polish the waxed surface of the slat. The rollers 81 and 81' are driven at a speed somewhat slower than the other rollers and brushes in the polishing unit but at a rate slightly greater than the feed rollers 16 and'16 to maintain a slat engaged by both pairs of rollers under tension.

The end members 4 and 5' near the upper edges thereof are provided with horizontally disposed handles 103, 103 for convenience in moving the machine from place to place and the machine is also provided with a slat receiving rack 104 comprising a frame having spaced parallel side members 105, 105 supporting a plurality of spaced freely rotatable rollers 106 therebetween; said side members atone end thereof being provided with hooks 107 engageable withthe handle 103 at the delivery end of the machine and at the opposite end thereof having pivotally mounted legs 108 adapted when extended to support the rack in a horizontal position to receive the finished slats as they are ejected from the machine. As will be noted fromFig. 4, when the rack is in horizontal position, the end of the rack closely abuts the end of the machine to prevent disengagement therefrom, and Fig. 1 shows in dotted lines the mode of mounting and dismounting the rack.

Power is supplied through a lead adapted to be connected to any suitable source of electric energy and the lead is connected to a series of switches mounted in 'apanel 109 at the front of the machine. As illustrated,

three switches are employed for the separate control of the heater 60, the motor pump unit 61 and the roller and brush driving motor 38.

In use, the machine supplied with washing solution heated to the desired degree is moved in close adjacency tovthe blind'to be cleaned. The lift cords of the blind are released from the bottom rail and from the slats, the

machine is started and the slats are removed one at a time from the tapes and fed into the machine until all of the slats have thus been cleaned and waxed. The finished slats collect on the rack 104 and at the completion of the operation are re-inserted in the tapes and the lift cords are re-connected to the bottom rail to complete the operation. The machine is then moved to the next blind and the foregoing operation repeated. The machine, by reason of the close confinement of the water used therein may be used with complete safety in all locations without danger of damage to floors orfurnishings. For all practical purposes, the operation is completed in the time required to first remove the slats and then replace them in the ladder tapes. Moreover, since the slats progress through the machine, any length of slat may be cleaned thereby. If the waxing operation is not desired, the wax bar may be omitted since the passage of the slats through the machine will not be changed by the absence of wax. Some users may prefer to employ a detergent in the washing solution which includes a waxing agent in place of the wax bar illustrated. It is obvious that this may be employed without change in the.

machine. The rate of increase in the surface speeds of the various pairs of rollers and brushes may vary but in general each pair of those slat contacting elements other than the first and last pairs and the pair constituting the feeding means ought to have a surface speed at least 15% greater than that of the next preceding pair of slat contacting elements. While one particular form of drive means has been shown, any other form which will achieve the simultaneous rotation of the various rollers and brushes at the speeds desired therefor may be substituted for that illustrated. The same consideration with respect to possible variations of other portions of the invention in the light of the foregoing teaching is believed to be obvious. Therefore, the invention is not to be deemed to be limited to the exact form above disclosed by way of example, but to include as well all such modifications in the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall come within the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for cleaning metal Venetian blind slats, a supporting frame structure having a horizontal top, slat washing, drying, feeding and polishing means carried by .said top comprising pairs of upper and lower horizontal rollers having their meeting peripheries disposed in a plane parallel to said top and all of said rollers rotating in directions whereby all of the slat contacting portions thereof are moving in the direction of travel of a slat passing between the rollers of each pair; said feeding means comprising a pair of slightly resilient rollers and spring means causing said feeding means to engage a slat with greater frictional engagement than any of the other pairs of rollers; said feeding means being interposed between said washing and drying means and said polishing means; said washing means comprising a pair of soft rubber rollers having roughened surfaces and having a surface speed which is greater than the linear rate of travel of a slat engaged by said feeding means and means for supplying hot, liquid detergent to said washing means; said drying means comprising a second pair of soft rubber rollers disposed between said washing means and said feeding means and having a surface speed greater than the surface speed of said washing means rollers; said drying means rollers being effecti-ve to remove excess moisture from the slat surfaces and the heat of the detergent conducted through the metal of the slat being sufficient to evaporate any remaining moisture; said polishing means comprising a plurality of pairs of rollers disposed in rear of said feeding means and all having surface speeds in excess of the linear rate of travel of a slat therebetween as determined by the surface speed of said feeding means, and a motor and power transmission means carried by said frame structure separately connected to said rollers for imparting the desired relative speeds thereto.

2. A slat washing machine as claimed in claim -1 in which said detergent supplying means comprises a tank mounted on said supporting frame beneath said washing means, means for heating fluid in said tank, a pump having an intake in said tank and a discharge including a plurality of orifices disposed parallel and adjacent to said washing rollers and directed toward a slat passing between said washing rollers.

3. A slat washing machine as claimed in claim 1 in which said polishing means comprises in succession as engaged by a slat passing therethrough, a first pair of sponge rubber rollers having a surface speed greater than the linear rate of travel of a slat therebetween, a pair of roller type brushes having a surface speed greater than the surface speed of said first pair of sponge rubber rollers, and a second pair of sponge rubber rollers having a surface speed less than the surface speed of said first pair of sponge rubber rollers but greater than the linear rate of travel of a slat propelled therebetween by said feeding means.

References Cited in the fild'of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

